Vicki laughed. “Yes, I like that very much, and I’d love to try it. But first, give me a minute.”

She reached behind her and unsnapped her bra. A wildness in the air tonight made her lose her inhibitions. Without even a drop of liquor in her, she was tightly wound and on edge, as if something momentous was waiting to happen.

She leaned away from Joel and slipped her hand up her sleeve, pulling her bra strap past her elbow, out the sleeve and over her hand. One more wiggle and she had hold of the opposite strap.

Normally she would have completely removed her bra out a sleeve, but this time she didn’t think swinging the material like a double-barreled slingshot was a good thing, no matter how cocky she felt. Instead she straightened and gave Joel a wink. “There, you can slip it off now.”

Joel tugged experimentally, his eyes widening as he pulled the cups from her body and out the gap at her waistline.

“That’s a nice trick.” He lifted the fabric and shocked her by stroking it over his cheek. “It’s still warm from your body.”

Oh jeez. “Put that down.”

Too late. Travis stood next to them, Ashley watching from her spot on the blanket with bright eyes.

Travis didn’t say anything. Just grinned, his gaze trickling over Vicki. He held out the jar and waited until Joel took it from him.

Vicki ignored the flash of heat storming her face. Flushing her chest, making her now-uncontained breasts ache. Joel copied Travis’s earlier actions. Filled his mouth with liquid then turned, cupping the back of her neck and pulling her forward until their lips met.

Kissing him was like stepping into an inferno. Flames scorched her throat while his tongue slammed in and he stole her breath. Nothing could have prepared her for the burn or the bliss, because his tongue cooled the pain and stoked the fire at the same time.

The head rush was wild to experience, but it was touching Joel, kissing him, that was the real highlight of the moment.

When they broke apart, her head was spinning slightly and she wasn’t sure what had caused it. “Oh yeah, that packs a punch.”

Joel nuzzled her neck. “My kisses or the hootch?”

“Definitely the hootch,” Vicki teased.

Travis retrieved the jar. “I’m cutting us off.” He tweaked Ashley’s chin as she muttered a complaint. “I know, such a bore, aren’t I? There’s nobody going blind while I’m in charge. Switch to the liquor we brought with us.”

She nodded, clambering to her feet and racing to the truck where she leaned in the open window and turned up the music. The song about a redneck yacht club wasn’t very seasonally appropriate, but it made Vicki smile.

Travis distributed beers, and singing along with the radio resumed. Small talk, easy company. Laughter rose as their conversation veered into stories about Joel and Travis as they grew up and played fast ones on their older brothers.

Vicki sipped her beer slowly, not sure how she would react after the moonshine. The erotic background created by the flickering of the fire and Joel’s constant caresses drove a rising need in her core.

Travis and Ashley were more obvious about the petting they were doing. The other woman’s coat gaped open to show she had only a shimmering camisole under the thick covering. Travis kissed her often, catching hold of her head and interrupting the conversation whenever he wanted. His hands controlling her.

Vicki swallowed, her heart beating faster than it should. Joel nuzzled her neck, and she would have given anything to be back in her apartment. Or in the tent, or anywhere private for that matter.

Ashley hopped up on the tailgate, swaying her upper body to the music. “Come on, Vicki, let’s dance.”

She found her footing, hips moving in time with the heavy beat in the song. Vicki watched for a moment, unsure what to do.

Joel stroked her again, his thumb slipping over her nipple and making the hair at the back of her neck stand upright. “Your decision. You don’t have to do anything you don’t want to.”

All her deliberations from earlier in the week, after the incident in the barn, rushed back in. About how she was leaving in the spring and this entire relationship was a sham. She had to protect her heart, not set herself up for more pain.

This was time for casual fun. Nothing permanent about this situation. Why not dance? There were only the two guys. It wasn’t as if she were stripping in front of an entire club.

She pushed off the blanket and bounced up, swaying in surprise for a moment as her balance went out of kilter.

Joel caught her with one hand. “Whoa, you okay there, darling?”

She lifted her chin. “I’m more than okay.”

Vicki leaned over and kissed him, letting her hands explore his groin as their lips meshed. Yeah, he was already excited. Good thing, because she sure didn’t want the sexual buzz of the evening to be hers to experience all alone.

She slipped his grasp and backed away with a wink. “I need some dance time to warm me up.”

“I’ll warm you up,” he growled, but she was out of reach, hoisting herself onto the tailgate with Ashley’s help.

“Nice.” The other woman swayed, spinning her hips toward the guys and glancing over her shoulder at Travis. “Let’s see how long they last before we find ourselves being hauled off for a little ravishing.”

Ashley had leaned in close, the words whispering out, her sweet cinnamon breath brushing Vicki’s cheek.

“This is a game?”

Ashley ran her hand down Vicki’s forearm and slipped their hands together so she could squeeze her fingers tight for a second. “Honey, life’s always a game of some type. The rules are win, and have fun while winning. Simple. Right?”

The pulse in the music echoed through Vicki’s body. “Yeah, I guess so.”

The blonde at her side stepped away and got into the dance, staring down at Travis with a challenge as she swung her hips and slid her hands up her torso.

All that was caught in a second’s glance before Vicki turned to see what Joel was doing.

Oh my. He’d eased himself back in his chair, long legs stretched in front of him. The erect state of his cock was easy to see as it pushed the fabric of his jeans. He had a thick sweater on, so there was no way to enjoy the intimate sexiness of his torso, although, sweet mercy, the man was built, that much was obvious even through his layers.

Joel lifted his hands and linked his fingers behind his head, his gaze drifting over her.

She was suddenly at a loss as to what to do. “Umm, Ashley? I don’t…?”

The other woman swayed to her side, wrapping an arm around her waist even as she kept time with the music. “What’s happening, you need a dance lesson? You were doing fine the other day. Just loosen up. Feel the music.”

Ashley stepped behind her and put her hands on Vicki’s hips. Vicki was simultaneously more tense and more relaxed. With Ashley’s help she’d found the beat again, the two of them pressed together and swinging their hips.

But the heat in Joel’s eyes when Vicki glanced his way stirred something inside and made her body ache in places that had no right to be turned on. Not when she was basically in another woman’s arms. Even though it was Joel Vicki focused on, his eyes locked on where Ashley’s hands clutched her.

It should have felt like cheating. Heck, if she’d been dancing this close with another guy in front of her date, she’d have considered it over the line.

This time, seeing Joel adjust in his chair, easing his hips to the side, she didn’t think she was in trouble. Not yet. And that pissed her off. A lot.

They were supposed to be boyfriend and girlfriend, but a little girl-on-girl action was okay with him?

Maybe the moonshine had been a lot more potent than she’d imagined because all of a sudden all she could think of was taking this to the next level. She’d gotten her first kiss from Joel, her first of just about everything.

But there were some firsts he couldn’t give her, right?

Only a good time, nothing permanent.

She leaned harder on Ashley, reaching a hand around to catch hold of the other woman.

A long, low moan escaped as Ashley returned the favour, sneaking her hand off Vicki’s hip and onto her belly. “That’s it, I thought you’d like this. Come on, honey, shake your hips. Yeah, now raise your hands and drape them around my neck.”

Vicki obeyed so mindlessly she wasn’t sure what had come over her. Joel stared, every muscle gone rigid.

“You’re driving him crazy,” Ashley whispered in her ear, right before what had to be lips pressed to her neck.

Vicki shivered, her body arched as she let her head fall back on Ashley’s shoulder. “I think I’m a little insane. What the hell are we doing?”

“Winning the game, honey. Trust me, your guy needs a kick in the butt right now. If I’m not wrong he’s about ten seconds from storming over here and hauling you away like you’re his prize possession.”

Was that what Vicki wanted? To be claimed?

God, yes, but it was the wrong answer. She wanted so desperately to belong, and the longing had to be fought with everything in her. She twisted in Ashley’s arms, her breathing unsteady as she stared at the other woman, their bodies still touching.

One way to make this clear. It seemed so logical. She’d take charge of her own sexual education from here on. Starting with—

Starting with…

Ashley’s eyes were wickedly dark as her pupils and irises blended together into one mesmerizing mass. What Vicki was considering was insane, maybe even stupid. This experience had never been on her agenda, but somehow she found herself craving it as she leaned forward and kissed Ashley.